Dark America: Genetic Fallout
by false sourires
Summary: It has been ten years since the Pulse and the USA's self imposed isolation. An unknown foe threatens the nations continued existence, and America may be the key to finding the truth. Too bad no one has seen or heard from America since the Pulse.


Disclaimer: Well, if I were the author of Dark Angel I would finish my underrated series online if I couldn't publish it in any other format. However I doubt I'd publish it in the crossover section, so no I don't own Dark Angel or Hetalia.

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><p><strong>Dark America: Genetic Fallout<strong>

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><p>18:54. PARIS. FRANCE. MAY 9th 2019.<p>

_Time passes so quickly._ France mused to himself as he sipped at the wine glass in his right hand. What seemed like a blink of the eye to him is really a decade their time. Gazing blindly out the window he watched his people leisurely bustle about below him. Odd that so little has changed in that blink. Glancing away from the window to the sharp click of opening doors he watched as the tall, blonde exited brusquely and headed for the stairs without so much as an acknowledgement to him. Exiting behind the blonde man, Japan shared a tired understanding look with him as he approached. How could life change so little when everything was so different?

"Canada-san had a busy day. He does not mean anything by ignoring you France-san." Japan stated to soothe his state of mind. The peace mediator as always.

"He is furious with me Japon. Mon ange has every right to be." Mon Dieu, it wasn't as if he didn't understand.

"No! I m-mean he is-"

"Acting like a moody bugger and taking it out on the rest of us." England interrupted icily. France only had it in him to give a half-hearted glare, before sighing.

"He blames us Angleterre."

"No shit Frog."This time the glare wasn't as half-hearted. "WE are NOT to blame for what happened though, and he needs to get that through his overly thick North American skull."

"Says the one that doesn't have the statue de la Liberté in their capital!" France hissed darkly. Japan looked awkwardly between the historic rivals. England snorted.

"Better for it to remain with one of Japan's rich collectors then? You have every right to that damned statue Frog, and the boy should be damned glad your government cared enough to demand it from the man after the way his twin haphazardly threw it away. Don't know why you bothered." The deepening of wrinkle lines in Japan's face was the only indication that he was annoyed with what the English nation said.

"England-san."

"Do not bother to reprimand him Japon. Anger and bitterness are the only emotions Angleterre is capable of feeling, whatever he tells you about being a gentleman." The English nation was turning a vivid red shade.

"Frog!"

"Quiet!" Japan barked to both their surprise. "England-san is right France-san. The only reason my government encouraged the man to give your government the statue is because it is just as much a part of your history as America-sans. I do not know why America-san insisted on shaming himself by selling to someone other than you. He cannot even dredge up the honor to face you when he sold it."

Japan's shoulders sagged in relief as he finished his lecture. A small pink tinting his cheeks, showing his embarrassment at so bluntly stating his opinions. England stood shocked for a few moments, before starting to puff his chest out in triumph.

"That is why I am upset Japon. You do not understand how much Amérique cared for the statue de la Liberté! He was so proud when we built her. When we thought we would have to quit construction due to the lack of money, he went out and helped his people gather the necessary contributions. L'Amérique would never have been able to sell her off without being there to see who was taking her away from him. It would shame him more not to see her off, than it would for him to sell her. I tell you either they did it without his permission or he wasn't able to fight against them! And Amérique would have too." France never stopped contemplating his glass of wine. He knew Amérique wouldn't have given her up without a fight, and given the lack of damage to the buyer it was obvious he wasn't aware she was being sold. Where was he?

"Hiding Frog, or did you forget he went back to 'isolation'?" He must have spoken his thoughts aloud, because Sourcils answered less venomously. France just scowled at him.

"His pride is why he is in this mess. Anyone of us could have helped him had he asked for it. Did he? No he declared he wanted no help and would return to an isolated state. At least he was smart enough to leave his trade open, even if he's closed his borders to everyone except those doing business."

"Did he Sourcils? I certainly don't recall Amérique standing before us and announcing a return to his isolated state. What about you Japon? Did he tell you that he didn't want help? That you should stay away?"

Japan glanced uneasily between France and England. Why couldn't they go a minute without arguing?

"No America-san did not, but his Bosses were quite clear on the matter…"

"Exactly. His government."

England couldn't stop his hand from pinching his nose to stop his incoming migraine.

"Frog, even you know we can't argue with our leaders."

France looked at him disbelievingly. "Vraiment?"

"Your Bloody Revolution withstanding."

"L'Amérique is sneaky. He wouldn't go this long without contacting one of us."

"He went over a century avoiding all of us before. Ten years has nothing on that."

France snorted unattractively.

"Hardly a century. A few years at most. He and his brother visited one another frequently when you weren't paying attention."

"What?"

France fluttered his hand to shut England up.

"He wrote often when our relations were good, and made sure to visit nations he was opening relations with even if he didn't stay long. When he was angry his letters could match any of the rants mon ange gives when he expresses his anger."

England and Japan were staring dumbfounded at France. He raised his eyebrow at them.

"Then again he was angry with you most of the time back then, so I suppose you didn't get a letter Angleterre. Japon at least has the excuse of not knowing him during his more spirited letter writing years."

Japan was blinking curiously, while England was sputtering in a mix of anger, surprise and hurt. France supposed he'd had enough fun with him tonight.

"America-san did visit me…but I don't remember any letters."

"He was more interested in the telegraph by then."

"You're lying Frog!"

"Hardly Sourcils. I would tell you to ask Canada, but I won't because it will only make him angrier."

Sighing, he lost himself in his almost empty glass.

"As if I care about that. He's an adult nation now, and among the most powerful of us. Pouting because his brother won't speak to him is childish. I know he's used to America taking the spotlight from him, but that isn't an option anymore. If you would stop mollycoddling him he would stop being so shy."

France could feel his eyebrow twitching. He completely blamed the rosbif for America's inability to read the atmosphere.

"Ah, I don't think Canada-san is shy England-san. I would say he is more reserved and thoughtful. He likes to think things through before making a decision. During the meeting he was very attentive and collected, even though he seemed to be upset. Perhaps he would have been in a better mood, had America-san's former possessions not been displayed in front of him."

"Exactly Sourcils."

England huffed as France grinned haughtily. It was true. The Canadian was never the most vocal of the nations, but he could hardly be accused of being non-participatory. His demeanor had always been confident, and he was clearly comfortable with himself, but it had taken some time for him to get used to having more attention focused on himself after America's terrorist attack. As he wasn't mistaken for America anymore, he was forced to develop his diplomatic skills more fully as more nations paid attention to him. Unfortunately for the younger nations, they did not share the older nations' ability to mask their emotions. This tended to cause trouble for them, though Canada was relatively mild-tempered and would likely not cause trouble.

"Fine. The lad was very diplomatic in his choices. That doesn't change that his demeanor was clearly angry and hostile. It's been nearly ten years. By now he should be used to this sight. I know for a fact that he has several of his brother's more famous artworks displayed in his cities."

Japan nodded, while France sighed again.

"Sourcils, you are missing the problem. Mon ange misses his twin. He feels betrayed and violated by Amériques continued absence. It doesn't help that both their governments insisted on putting up an electric fence along the borders, with all the access points guarded by their respective militaries. The twins have always had an unguarded border, even when they were not allowed to see one another. I think this is the longest they have gone without communicating with one another. Amérique should have established some form of contact. Mon ange is worried. I am worried."

"What are you worried about France-san?" Japan asked in confusion.

"That something is wrong with Amérique."

"He just had his economy and infrastructure majorly damaged. Of course he isn't well." England grumbled. France shook his head discontented.

"Non. Aux Etats-Unis has managed to stabilize most of the infrastructure, and his government is still functioning well. He should be able to communicate with us. Something has gone wrong."

"France-san we don't actually know what is occurring in the government or with the people. Is it possible they are lying to us, and he is actually in worse condition…"

Japan trailed off as England crossed himself as if to ward off bad omens.

"That is what I am afraid of Japon. For all we know, he could be gone like Rome."

"Like hell. If the bloody Prussian is still here than there is no way that America could be gone!"

England stated vehemently. France stared at him mournfully.

"Prusse had always been odd though Angleterre. Perhaps Amérique has been replaced."

The room was quiet as everyone lost themselves in their thoughts.

~…...~

CATSKILLS. UNITED STATES.

A lone figure dismounted a horse. Travelling by vehicle was too expensive and showy. One didn't do so unless they were sufficiently armed or dim-witted. Small towns, especially rural ones did not trust strangers, and had little issue with stealing from them either. Manufactured goods were scarce in these areas as a result of the Pulse. Travelling by horseback had gained some more popularity in the last decade, but the lack of horses or the knowledge of how to ride the, deterred the theft of them. Good riders also knew how to get around off road, so they could avoid being ambushed by thieves. Knowing this, the rider left the mare free to roam after removing the saddlebags. Carefully removing a map from one of the saddlebags, the rider took some time to read it before turning in another direction and hiking up through the woods. Every so often the map would be pulled back out, and the traveler would change directions.

Nearly an hour later, the traveler took one last look at the map before folding it back up and placing it in a pocket. Cautiously, the traveler kneeled and crawled up between two trees surrounded by ferns. Looking down from the high perch into the small valley below, the figures tugged gently at another pocket pulling out a tiny camouflaged camera. The flash had been turned off, and the rural area would mean the battery would be less affected by the lingering effects of the pulse. Searching below, the figure snapped a picture of what had been a small town. A green medical tent was set up to the right of the town. Medical officials were busy examining the disheveled, haunted looking patients, while military uniformed individuals roamed around the former town periodically using a flamethrower to start a fire. Corpses could be seen laying around in various positions all around, slowly being consumed by the flames. Photos were snapped of all the uniformed individuals whose faces were partially covered by masks. Once all the bodies had been burnt, and the remains of the buildings were down to their foundations, the individuals headed back to the medical tents. Further away, a scout team appeared to be coming down to rendezvous at the tents.

Inhabitants of the former town stared at the smoking remains of their homes and their families in horror. A few were still able to cry and gain comfort from holding other patients. In the meantime the examiners were making notes on clipboards, and conferring with the soldiers and scouts. Several moments later the scouts were gathering up the samples the examiners had taken from the survivors, before heading out of the temporary camp. The soldiers began to take down the tents, and store them in the nearest truck. Examiners had returned to the survivors and began to put them into different groups. A while later the soldiers indicated that they were done, and the first pair of examiners began to lead a group to a truck they all got in. The truck took off while the second group was being put into another truck. As the second truck left, the remaining survivors started moving to the third truck but were stopped by one of the soldiers. Hand signals were exchanged with another soldier. Soon the engine of the second truck was removed from hearing. The first shot was fired seconds later. Shocked by the sudden attack, the entire group was gunned down by the five remaining soldiers. The bodies were lit on fire as the soldiers watched. After the last of the smolders went down, the soldiers hopped into the last truck and left the burnt valley behind.

The figure in the trees snapped the last picture of the truck as it disappeared. Carefully the individual rose and descended the other side of the perch. Slipping several times, the figure finally managed to touch flat ground. Closing in on the smoldering remains of the town, the figure stopped at a board in the ground. Crouching, the board was lifted up. Hardenburgh. Population 883. There had only been seventeen survivors. Eight of which had been shot. A picture was taken of the sign was taken, before the figure grabbed it and threw it in the smoldering ruins. Five children and four women had made up the two groups. The town was dead. A prayer was said by the individual, before she turned to go search for the mare. Nightfall was in two hours.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

I really wanted to write a crossover for Hetalia and Dark Angel, thus I did. As I tend to like fics where a nation is missing or has amnesia I started to think about how that would happen. I didn't want the nation to go missing because of any historical wars, but I don't care to hypothesize future (world) wars either, though the post-apocalyptic setting fit. There also had to be more to the plot than making the nation remember who they were, and I don't subscribe to the belief that secret autonomous militaristic factions being able to take out nations theory. Imprison yes, kill no. Hence I chose Dark Angel. The electromagnetic pulse gives a reason for America having amnesia, and the transgenics allow for further plot elements, especially between other nations. This will be a loose crossover, and while I may have Max and Logan appear overall they won't be main characters. As for the title of the fic, I wanted to play on the way the novels are titled, just without the Dark Angel part. I also figure the title fits because after the Pulse America loses the advantages of a largely hi-tech society, and basically falls to a Third World nation.

I intended for the United States to go into a rather isolationist stance after the electromagnetic pulse, though I don't think that happens in the series. Trade will continue to occur with other nations, but immigration and travel will be severely limited. Characters may be more OOC because of the nature of the fic. I may have some errors in regards to Dark Angel, so if you spot them feel free to point them out so I can change them or explain why something was changed.

~False Sourires


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